Tag Archives: Alex Smith

The Falcons and the Saints will go head-to-head on Sunday in a match up of two of the league's best.

1. Rex Ryan might be giving the term “football” new meaning this week. Deadspin uncovered four videos of a woman who appears to be Ryan’s wife, Michelle, showing off her clod-hoppers in a series of foot-fetish videos. The videos were uploaded to youtube by a user named “ihaveprettyfeet” who shares several biographical details in common with Michelle. In one video, the camera man who sounds strikingly like Ryan converses with the woman about her feet. The fine folks at Deadspin guess that this video was made a few years ago while Ryan was an assistant coach in Baltimore. When asked about the videos, Ryan said it was a “personal matter” and refused to comment. The NFL agreed, saying it would not be investigating. So did Jets management, with New York GM Mike Tannenbaum and owner Woody Johnson indicating that Ryan has their “full support.” You can be sure our crack news team will be keeping their toes in the water on this one.

2. Indianapolis receiver Austin Collie is out for the season after suffering a concussion in the Colts’ game against the Jaguars last week. It was his second concussion of the year, and enough for Indy to put him on IR, ending his season. Collie has been banged up all year, missing five games completely and missing significant parts of three others after he was knocked out of the game. Despite this, Collie managed to lead the Colts in touchdown receptions with eight, and the loss will deprive Manning of one of his favorite targets over the past two years. Coach Jim Caldwell said, “From a medical standpoint, we are concerned more so about his health than anything else.” Collie’s injury comes in the wake of a number of other significant personnel losses suffered by the Colts, including Dallas Clark, Anthony Gonzales, Joseph Addai, and Bob Sanders.

3. Some quarterback quick-hits for you in our third news item of the week. The Broncos indicated that Tim Tebow will be starting the team’s remaining games against Houston and San Diego. Kyle Orton, the team’s starting quarterback for the majority of the year, expressed his displeasure, saying, “I don’t know if I’ll be here next year. We’ll just have to wait and see what shakes out with the organization.” The 49ers are remaining quiet as to which Smith will be starting for them this week – Troy or Alex. An NFL Network report indicated that Troy would start. Alex has gone 1-8 this year, while Troy has won three of five games in relief. Mark Sanchez has been limited in practice due to a sore shoulder, but said he expects to play in the Jets’ game against Chicago this week. Brett Favre might still play despite his concussion last week against the Bears, but the Vikings, and Joe Webb, are preparing as though he will miss the game. Finally, Aaron Rodgers returned to practice with the Packers this week, and he is expected to start against the Giants on Sunday despite having suffered his second concussion this year.

With the San Diego Chargers and the Jacksonville Jaguars knocking on the door at 8-6.

Despite the lack of teams clinching by this point relative to prior seasons, the AFC playoff picture has remained remarkably stable, with only the Colts’ do-si-do with the Jags changing the order from last week. With two weeks to go, the only big questions are: Can the Steelers hold off the Ravens? Can the Chiefs hold off the Chargers? And who will come out on top in the fight between Indy and Jacksonville for the AFC South?

With the Green Bay Packers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers knocking on the door at 8-6, and the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers still holding onto a chance to win the NFC West at 6-8 and 5-9 respectively.

Again, the NFC playoff picture has been pretty solid consistent despite a lack of mathematical certainty, and it looks to stay that way over the last two weeks of the season. The big questions are: Can the Eagles hold onto their lead in the East over the Giants? Will one of the Bays, be it Green or Tampa, be able to sneak into a Wildcard spot? And what miserable team will back its way into winning the NFC West?

1. NY Jets at Chicago, 1 P.M. EST on CBS – What makes this game intriguing is that the Jets have a lot more to play for than Chicago. With last week’s win, the Bears clinched the NFC North. If Chicago can win out, or if they can get a little help from the Eagles, they can also secure a first round bye. But thanks to the woeful NFC West, even if the Bears don’t win another game this season, the worst that happens is a home playoff game against the sixth seed. The heavy lifting is pretty much over for Jay Cutler & Co. until the postseason. What makes this interesting is the fact that this is a group who haven’t been to the playoffs, let alone clinched a berth before the end of the season, in four years. Whether Mike Martz can get his crew fired up and ready to play or whether his team will come out flat with so much locked up will say a lot about these Bears. The Jets, on the other hand, are still fighting for their playoff lives after having previously held the best record in the league. How the mighty have fallen. New York still controls their own destiny, and if they can win this game, they’re in the playoffs. Even if they lose, they still have their chances with the underachieving Bills on the schedule for their regular season finale, but the AFC Wildcard race is coming to a head and the Jets need to build momentum as they head toward the playoffs. Last week’s win against the likely second-seeded Steelers should help give the Jets their swagger back, but Rex Ryan’s group still needs to firmly erase the memories of their beat down in New England and their close loss to Miami. What kind of game Chicago plays and what kind of team New York puts on the field will give us a good view of what to expect from both sides in the postseason.

2. NY Giants at Green Bay, 4:15 P.M. EST on FOX – This is essentially a playoff game between the presumptive second place finishers in the NFC East and the NFC North. The stakes are the highest for Green Bay. The Packers control their own destiny, and if they can win out, they will go to the playoff thanks to the head-to-head tiebreaker with New York and the strength of victory tiebreaker with Tampa Bay. If, however, the Pack loses this game, they’re officially eliminated from playoff contention and a promising season will go down the drain. With Aaron Rodgers returning after his second concussion of the year, it’s do or die in Green Bay. The Giants are suffering a bit themselves. After giving up a 31-10 lead over Philadelphia Eagles last week, a disastrous fourth quarter and a special teams bungle to end all bungles for New York all but dashed their hopes for winning the NFC East. A win for the Giants would give them a playoff berth thanks to a strength of victory tiebreaker over the Bucs, but the big question going into this game is – how much of a hangover will the G-men be nursing as they walk into Lambeau? This game could lock down a major part of the rough and tumble wildcard race in the NFC. The Packers need the win to get to the big dance, but the Giants need the win to prove to themselves that the Philly game was a fluke and that they won’t fade in the heat. Expect a playoff atmosphere and a great game.

3. New Orleans at Atlanta, Monday, 8:30 P.M. EST on ESPN – It’s rare for two teams this good to be playing in the same division. The Falcons look nigh unstoppable, having not lost a game since the middle of October and stringing together eight wins in a row in the mean time. A victory would be huge for Atlanta, giving them not only the NFC South, but home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Falcons are flying high, and nothing would cap their regular season better than defeating their division rivals to ensure that the road to the Superbowl goes through Atlanta in front of the home crowd. The defending Superbowl champion Saints, however, are no slouches themselves. While New Orleans, at two games back, would need a great deal of help to unseat the Falcons at the top of the NFC South, they would be at least tied for first in six of the seven other divisions in the league. New Orleans is still smarting from last week’s loss to Baltimore, but they have won six of their last seven games, and a win here would clinch them a playoff berth. These are two of the best teams not just in the NFC South, or the NFC, but the league. Expect them both to shine in front of a national audience on Monday Night.

The last two Superbowl Champions collide in a big matchup on Sunday. Night.

1. It’s been a tough week to be a quarterback. San Francisco QB Alex Smith suffered a separated shoulder in the Niners’ game against the Panthers this past Sunday. He’s expected to be out 2-3 weeks. In his place, the 49ers’ coach Mike Singletary is giving Troy Smith, the former Heisman Trophy winner, his first NFL start in three years. Also, Dallas quarterback Tony Romo suffered a broken collarbone in the Cowboys’ loss to the New York Giants Giant on Monday night. While Romo will not require surgery, he is expected to be out for 6-8 weeks. He will be replaced by former Lions QB Jon Kitna, who has not seen the field in the regular season for more than two years.

2. Lots of news coming out of the Vikings organization. First and foremost, Brett Favre may or may not play in Minnesota’s game against New England this Sunday, despite the fact that he suffered two fractures in his left ankle. At a news conference Favre said, “I would love to play, for no other reason but I’m in this, committed to this team.” Favre has started 291 consecutive regular season games. Still, he commented that “I’m very proud of the streak, but it probably should have ended a long time ago.” It remains to be seen whether Brett will be behind center on Sunday. In other Vikes news, coach Brad Childress was fined for his comments that Minnesota’s narrow loss to Green Bay was “the worst officiated game [he’s] seen.” The NFL fined Childress $35,000 for this statement. In particular, Childress criticized the call on an endzone catch by tight end Visanthe Schiancoe which was initially ruled a touchdown but overturned on review. Childress later said that “50 drunks in a bar” could have made the correct call.

3. The NCAA quickly shot down rumors that it intended to pursue an attempt to coordinate with the NFL to punish rookies who accepted extra benefits in college. The NCAA quickly said that such a proposal is “not currently under consideration.” Certain college coaches presented this proposal as a means to turn the tide against the rash of benefit violations in the NCAA, advocating suspensions and fines for violators in the NFL. The NFLPA immediately objected to the proposal, rejecting the idea of “any penalty being imposed upon a player in the NFL for conduct relating to the receipt of benefits in violation of NCAA rules while the player was in college.”

2008 Detroit Lions Memorial Winless Teams

Buffalo Bills

And then there was one. The Carolina Panthers pulled off their first win in a tight game against the similarly situated San Francisco 49ers to make it off the winless list. The Bills tried valiantly, taking the Baltimore Ravens down to the wire, but at the end of the day they still found themselves as the sole remaining team without a victory. This week they’ll try their luck against the AFC West-leading Kansas City Chiefs.

1. Green Bay at NY Jets, 1 P.M. EST on FOX – The NFC North is up for grabs this year, with the Packers in the thick of the race. With their victory over the archrival Vikings, the Pack catapulted themselves to a share of first place in the division. Still, they face what may be their biggest challenge of the season. The Jets will be only the second team the Packers have played this year who will enter the game with a winning record. Still, Green Bay is no stranger to playing in close matchups, with six of their seven games this season decided by four points or less. For their part, the Jets have done nothing but win since their one-point loss to the Ravens in the first week of the season. Coming off a bye and sitting at 5-1, the Jets are still only sharing the lead in the AFC East, as they fend off the Patriots. Both teams are fighting to keep up in tight division races, and it should mean a good show.

2. Pittsburgh at New Orleans, 8:20 P.M. EST on NBC – It took a controversial decision from a referee and a very close shave, but the Steelers survived their match up with Dolphins to improve to 5-1. On third down in that game, Ben Roethlisberger ran for the endzone. He lost control of the ball, but the ref on the field ruled that he had crossed the goal line prior to losing possession. Upon an official review, it was ruled that Big Ben indeed fumbled before he reached the goal line, but that it was unclear who recovered the ball in the ensuing scrum, and as such, by rule, the Steelers retained possession for a 4th down play. They kicked the field goal to win the game, amid thunderous boos from the Miami faithful. Nevertheless, the Steelers won the game and sit in first place in the AFC North. New Orleans, on the other hand, has not been so lucky. After starting 3-1, the Saints have gone 1-2 down the stretch, including a shocking thirteen-point loss to the Cleveland Browns this past week. Drew Brees is still throwing with 69.7 completion rate, but the Saints may still be fighting a Superbowl hangover. New Orleans will be desperate to boost themselves out of third place in the NFC South behind Atlanta and Tampa Bay. Expect both teams to be at their best in this matchup of the last two Superbowl Champions.

3. Houston at Indianapolis, Monday 8:30 P.M. EST on ESPN – These are not your father’s…er…big brother’s Texans. Off to their best start in years, Matt Schaub and the rest of this Houston team have had impressive wins over the rejuvenated Reskins, the red hot Chiefs, and yes, even the Colts. With a team that ranks first in Red Zone offense and after a bye week to rest and recover, the Texans will shoot for their first season sweep of the Colts ever. On their side, Indy has put up some big victories of their own, including big wins over those same Redskins and Chiefs, plus a sound trouncing of the NY Giants. Still, the Colts’ receiving corps has been severely hampered by injuries, with Austin Collie suffering an injured right thumb that will keep him out of the lineup a few more weeks, and Peyton Manning’s favorite target, Dallas Clark, out for the season. This game will go a long way in deciding an increasingly tight division race, so expect both teams to come out hungry for a victory.